Debated in Parliament on 13 Apr 2015.
Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs from 2001 to 2014, what was (i) the number of foreign students who were offered and who had accepted permanent residency when they reached Secondary 1 or later; (ii) the number of such student PRs who had gone on to become citizens; and (iii) the number of such students who had renounced their PR or citizenship.
The Second Minister for Home Affairs (Mr S Iswaran) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs): Madam, between 2001 and 2014, around 7,000 foreign students at secondary and Junior College levels have been granted PR on their own merits. About 840 or 12% of these PRs have subsequently taken up citizenship. One percent of those granted PR have renounced PR, while none has renounced their citizenship.
Madam, I just have two questions. What is the desired intention of this scheme in giving PR to such young foreigners with no roots in Singapore versus giving them an option to work after their graduation and, if they are bonded, they will have to serve their bond obligation anyway?
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My second question is: is this scheme effective versus allowing foreign spouses of Singaporeans with Singaporean children or who have lived and worked here a long time, a fast track to getting their PR, since one half of their family nucleus is already deeply rooted here?
Madam, I thank the Member for his questions. Let me take the second question first. There are many ways for individuals to secure PR in Singapore, including young people in the age groups that the Member has indicated. This scheme is just one of a range of possible routes. In fact, the large majority are associated with families because their parents are Singapore citizens or PRs themselves, or because their parents have applied for PR as a family together; and they have come together. So, I want to make it quite clear that the large majority of the PRs of this age group of foreigners are really through some of these other routes.
Secondly, what is the desired intention? Well, as we have stated before, it is part of a larger talent policy in Singapore, so we keep different routes and options available to us. The Member suggested this is a group that is too young to be considered. There is, in fact, an equally persuasive alternative view, because these young people, by virtue of being embedded in our education system for a significant period of time, living and studying cheek by jowl with Singaporean students, are better integrated and, therefore, better able to immerse themselves in our environment.
So, the scheme is targeted, it is very measured in the way it is taken up. As I have given the statistics, the proportion who take up PR and from there to citizenship is clear, the number who actually give up or renounce their PR is very, very low. I would say that, overall, just to give the Member a sense, as a percentage of all the other PRs that we give, for students or young people, it is less than 5%.
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